• Sport

Oranjemund crowned champions of the south

• 1 Month Ago - 2024-09-23 00:00:00

Oranjemund was crowned champions of the southern round of the Ongos Valley Sevens Rugby Series regional competition in Keetmanshoop on Saturday.

The “diamond town boys” shone bright and defeated Ocean Swallows from Lüderitz with 19-5 in the final at the Westdene Stadium. Swallows suffered a blow when their captain Darren Bester had to leave the field after one minute of play due to an injury.

Gevandro Oderwa touched down for the first try on behalf of Oranjemund moments before halftime. Gino Wilson missed the conversion (5-0). When play resumed, Wayne Jochimsen added a second try for Oranjemund converted by Wilson (12-0).

Swallows then upped their game tempo and were rewarded with their first try by Vilho Inkono. Romanzo Lento missed the conversion (5-12). Sam Nampolo rounded off a well orchestrated counterattack by Oranjemund by crossing the chalked line for their third try. He also added the conversion before referee Danie Koen signalled the end of the match.

“It was hard and the win over our archrivals was well deserved because it did not come easy. We played a lot of games and still managed to pull through because we had that extra bit of energy in the tank. Well done to the boys and thank you to everyone who came out today. We need opportunities like this,” said Gino Wilson the captain of Oranjemund.

Unearthing Gems
Abed Erastus, the PRO of Ongos Valley Development commented that the //Kharas Region is one of the strongholds for rugby.

“There are a lot of unearthed gems here and we managed to find some. We felt that it was the right time to get involved in rugby and see this as the first step to uplift Sevens Rugby in the country. The idea is to have a national team that can compete internationally on the world stage.”

Tightly contested
Ocean Swallows defeated NUST with 14-10 and Oranjemund defeated Keetmans Rams with 12-10 in the semi-finals.

The host, Keetmanshoop Rams defeated the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) with 21-7 in the third-place playoff. Rams established a 14-0 lead at halftime with tries by Roberto Kooper and David Sakeus. Kooper converted both tries.

When play resumed after the break, Giomario touched down for Rams third try. Dexter Sikokwani added the conversion (21-0). Rams was reduced to six men with referee Referee Antonie de Greeff handing Giomario Morkel a yellow card. NUST used their one man advantage to good effect and James Matroos touched down for a try. on their behalf. Fizel Joseph (7-21) added the conversion.

Dream Team of the South
The vice president of the NRU, Johan Diergaard commended Ongos Valley Development, Keetmanshoop Rams and FNB Western Suburbs for a well organised event.

“The discipline was exceptionally good. The participating clubs and players were willing to cooperate for the love of the game and brought their best. The standard of rugby played was high and competitive. Our sevens programs, officially kicked off today with the selection of a group of players. We are going to choose the final group after the tournament in Windhoek and will then start working on our Sevens Rubgy talent.”

David Philander, the Namibian National Sevens head coach, announced a Dream Team of the South after the final. This team will represent the region at the third and final leg of the competition with the series concluding in Windhoek on 4 and 5 October.

The players are Christo Smith (Swallows), Shaun Farmer (Swallows), Romanzo Lento (Swallows), Sakarias Molyenge (Swallows), Vilho Inkono (Swallows), David Sakeus (Rams), Morique Burger (Rams), Edward Stein (Rams), Actopher Amalungu (Oranjemund), Winespeare Temmers (Oranjemund), Gino Wilson (Oranjemund), Rodward Stephanus (Oranjemund) with Graziano Jahs (Swallows) as the coach.

The series will move to Swakopmund on 28 September with games to be hosted by Dolphin Rugby Club. A women’s tournament will also form part of the activities on 4 October with the series concluding in Windhoek on 5 October.